442 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.. 
\      Sept.,  1881. 
Varieties  of  Amber. — O.  Helm  describes,  under   the   name  of 
glessite,  a  peculiar  variety  of  amber,  which  is  dark  colored,  translucent 
or  opaque,  of  spec.  grav.  1"015  to  1'027,  contains  0*44  per  cent,  of  sul- 
phur and  behaves  to  solvents  like  ordinary  amber,  but  on  dry  distilla- 
tion yields  probably  formic  (not  succinic)  acid. 
Amber  from  Sicily  is  found  of  different  shades  of  red  or  red-yellow,, 
frequently  displaying  different  colors,  surrounded  by  a  thin  darker 
stratum,  and  of  spec.  grav.  1'052  to  1'068.  Hardness,  fracture,  electri- 
cal behavior  and  amount  of  sulphur  (0'52  per  cent.)  are  the  same  as 
in  amber  from  the  Baltic,  but  it  yields  only  0*4  per  cent,  of  succinic  acid 
and  the  vapors  are  less  irritating. 
Roumanian  amber  is  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Baltic- 
amber  ;  it  is  usually  rather  harder,  contains  1"15  per  cent,  of  sulphur,, 
has  a  density  of  1"06  to  1*10,  and  on  heating  yields  water  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  and  5'2  per  cent,  of  succinic  acid. — Archiv  d.  Phar.^ 
1881,  April,  p.  307 ;  Danzig  Naturf.  Ges. 
Naphthol,  a  New  Remedy  for  Cutaneous  Diseases. — Chemists  dis- 
tinguish two  isomeric  compounds,  a  naphthol  and  /?  naphthoL 
The  latter,  which  has  been  esperimented  with  by  Prof.  Kaposi,  is 
extensively  used  in  dyeing,  and  is  met  with  in  commerce  in  large 
lumps,  violet-brown,  of  a  crystalline  texture,  friable,  with  a  slight 
odor  resembling  that  of  carbolic  acid,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol,  liquid 
and  solid  fats,  also  in  dilute  alcohol.  It  has  been  used  in  the  form  of 
a  10  per  cent,  alcoholic  solution  and  of  an  ointment  containing  15  per 
cent,  of  naphthol.  It  colors  the  skin  faintly  brown  and  produces  only 
slight  desquamation.  It  is  rapidly  absorbed,  the  urine  is  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  turbid,  but  contains  no  albumen.  The  ointment  does  not 
color  the  clothes  or  bandages,  the  alcoholic  solution  gives  them  a  rose- 
red  color,  which  is  easily  removed  by  hot  water  and  soap. 
Further  observations  must  decide  in  which  diseases  naphthol  is  best 
indicated;  also  whether  it  may  not  be  possible  and  useful  to  give  it 
internally  and  let  it  act  by  secretion  through  the  skin. — Phar.  Cen~ 
tralh,,  p.  238 ;  Allg.  Wien.  Med.  Ztg. 
Administration  of  Q,uinia. — Dr.  J.  C.  Stockard  recommends  the 
following :  The  white  of  egg  is  well  beaten,  a  portion  of  the  resulting 
foam  is  placed  upon  a  spoon  and  the  powder  enveloped  by  the  albumen 
may  then  be  readily  taken. — Bull.  gen.  de  Therop.,  1881,  June,  p.  509. 
